Sintra

Hi incurable Travelers, as promised I bring with us to the most westerly point of Europe’s, but first a surprising step to Sintra Cultural Landscape Park, located in Extremadura and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1995. The Serra de Sintra is verdant wooded area which enjoys a special climate and for this reason it became a holiday resort for Lisbon’s aristocracy.

SINTRA

Monday morning, since most of the tourist sites closed in Lisbon, we decided to go to catch the train at Rossio station with the direction of Sintra. The ticket is included in Lisboa card and then once swiped our card at the turnstiles and once we got started we peeked out the window the outskirts of Lisbon. Very populous consists of tall tower blocks that follow one after another; after half an hour we arrived in Sintra.

At the station, immediately after the exit we went to the point of Sintra information to retrieve the necessary material (maps, bus schedules, etc.) And to understand how to make the bus tickets that we would first be taken to the various sites of Sintra and then to Cape Roca.

I must say I am very organized, to visit various points of interest in Sintra you have a bus available with the hop-on-hop-off system, with two different circular routes take you around.

We had already decided that we would only focus on the historical center with the Palacio Nacional de Sintra and the Palacio da Pena and then we got the ticket for that circuit at a cost of 5 Euros each, but if you decide to devote an entire day to the place it is convenient to take the day ticket for € 12 with which it is possible to use both paths. The ticket is on board the bus, but it’s handy to have their flyer in order to read the transit times of the means.

PALACIO NACIONAL

Took the bus the first stop was the center of Sintra, dominated by the Palacio Nacional, visited at a fee (9.5 EUR per full fare head). The palace is a heterogeneous complex of buildings on which stand two huge fireplaces. The core feels strong the influence of Moorish architecture, but you recognize subsequent interventions Manueline style with a profusion of decorative elements.

Very beautiful and characteristic of this palace are the tiles that adorn the walls of the most important rooms of the house.

Once out of the building you can enjoy a walk along the narrow streets of the old town of Sintra with the old buildings, the shops and the charming tearooms.

At this point we are ready to take the bus in the direction of the Palacio da Pena, climbed through narrow streets and made a few turns, there appears high on top of the hill the colorful profile of the building. We must confess that the first impression received is to be in front of a structure of the fairytale Disney instead place was really lived by the Portuguese royalty.

Originally a monastery inhabited by monks until the eighteenth century then abandoned because of the damage suffered by the earthquake and time. Towards the mid-nineteenth century, it was closed because of the liberal laws of the Portuguese Government and purchased by Ferdinand II, who decided the construction of a complex of buildings entrusting the project to a German architect, Eschwegw, which fused together different styles until you get the structure that now we visit.

Arrived at the entrance gate to the palace, performed the ticket (13:30 EUR), you enter the gardens, it also celebrated by Strauss, surrounding the castle and here you can choose to take a leisurely stroll, of course uphill, until getting to the top or if you are short on time or you just want to walk you can take a minibus (3 Euros per round trip head) that leads almost to the front door. We opted for this second option mainly because our day was still long and we still have a long way to go to complete the tour we had planned.

With hindsight, we realized that maybe we should plan the whole day in Sintra to appreciate the many works but this will be one of many reasons to return again in Portugal.

PALACIO DA PENA

Returning to the Palacio da Pena, as we have already said it remains open-mouthed in amazement, we have never seen anything like it. The whole structure is a composition of more or less impressive buildings and towers and arranged on different levels.

What is most striking is the color that becomes a bright yellow for most of the body of the castle, a red-orange for the main tower and some other turrets, ending with a blue given by the tiles that cover the main facade

You enter the building and we are located in environments in sober Overall, it still recognizes the core of the original monastery, especially in the chapel with interesting stained glass windows and votive in the cloister of the Manueline style, but are also found the state rooms with ‘ opulence of the furnishings from various periods.

The palace tour ends on a spacious terrace with views, overlooking the valley below, where there are tables of a cafe where you can grab a snack or have a drink. Taken the bus station in the direction of Sintra, we found ourselves in the most modern area of the town and having done time for lunch, we made a stop in a lovely tea room, the Chalet Saudade.

We had limited time available before having to take the bus that would take us to Cape da Roca and so our choice was for a quick lunch with sandwiches and coffee, a real sin saw the dishes that were brought to other tables. Refreshed we were ready to find out from the window of the bus stretch of Portuguese coast that would take us to the lighthouse on Cape Roca, but I speak of this in the article: Two incurable travelers a Capo da Roca while the beginning of the story of our trip to Lisbon, you can find it in the article: Two incurable travelers in Lisbon.

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